[Dreamtwister]

Don't get me wrong, I'm gobbling up this buying opportunity like there's no tomorrow. But it does beg the question "Which hedge funds (Yes, plural) are having the fire sale to stave off bankruptcy?"

[Novus]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Arsenal', 'H')a!! Problem solved. Time to go and buy a new SUV.

Arsenal

[Micki]

Did they just rehash an article from 2006?
Sorry, I just have heard this news so many times the last few years. I am sure one of these times they'll get it right.

[TreebeardsUncle]

Well, when talking about global warming, oil price rises, and housing price drops words such as may, might, can, and could (subjunctive mood) is used. TPTB demand the following that global warming is not considered to be a problem, housing prices go up, and oil prices go down. Physical and economic realities will overwhelm official fantasies that most people buy into and present good buying opportunities. Note it is premature to buy into oil. Wait until it drops below 100 in the second week of October.

Lates.
g

[Carlhole]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Graeme', '[')b]The great oil bubble has burst

If the trend continues into September at anything like the same rate of descent, most of the inflationary spike of the past 12 months will miraculously have been sliced away. This is a dramatic reversal, and it is worth trying to work out why it is happening and what it means.

[ROCKMAN]

I agree Carl. I don't follow daly or even weekly trends. Average MONTHYLY oil prices have risen for the last 7 months including July. Aug may be another matter. I'm an even bigger beleiver in the 6 month running average.

[jlw61]

Use this bursting bubble, and the stupidity it will bring, to your advantage. It was a good fire drill, and I've identified some definite weaknesses in my situation. Use this gift of time to identify and fix the perceived problems in your situation.

[Nickel]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Concerned', 'R')emember in 2007 when people were wondering if we would BREAK through $100 BBL and now oil is "falling" to $118

Please reality check

[Nickel]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Graeme', 'N')otice that near the end of the article, the author also says this:

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')hat's not to say it won't go up again when the signals change and all those long-term factors loom large once more.

[ROCKMAN]

Not being a daily oil speculator I look at a longer time frame. More like a 6 month rolling average. But even in a monthly time frame oil has increased (on a weighted daily average) for 7 continuous months. July average prices were still higher than June. Now Aug is another matter...we'll see where that average ends up in Sept.

[Twilight]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Graeme', 'N')otice that near the end of the article, the author also says this:

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')hat's not to say it won't go up again when the signals change and all those long-term factors loom large once more.

[Gazzatrone]

What do you expect from this guy? He is a business writer after, sticking with the tried and tested business model that has been around for years.

That one where all business is powered by a cheap, limitless supply of a finite resource.

I mean seriously.....

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'B')ut for the time being, a return to a relatively "normal" oil price in the $60 to $80 range would take the sting out of the current inflationary surge, and that in turn would allow the Bank of England to contemplate cutting interest rates to stave off recession and help the housing market. Keep your fingers crossed, and keep your eye on how oil traders react to titbits of bad news.

[DantesPeak]

This is the third or fourth 20 to 30% drop in the last three years. So what makes it a bubble this time?

Also when prices drop, demand destruction reverses and disappears. Dah!

[yesplease]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('DantesPeak', 'A')lso when prices drop, demand destruction reverses and disappears. Dah!

[Graeme]

This story was written in response to yesterday's story: The Great Bubble has Burst.

Have we reached the end of the road for oil?

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A')s a result, it is widely agreed that oil production in the non-Opec world will "peak" - reach its maximum possible level - within two years, if it has not already done so. This means that the huge profits being made by multi-nationals such as Shell or ExxonMobil may turn out to be their last hurrah. "The days of the international oil companies are coming to a glorious end," said Fatih Birol, chief economist of the International Energy Agency, last month. "Their reserves are declining and they will have difficulty accessing new ones."

Unfortunately, this means that the global oil supply will soon depend on Opec as never before. Many analysts suspect that the Opec countries, which claim to hold three quarters of known reserves, have been exaggerating their size for decades - in other words, they too will soon reach the physical limits of production.

[mos6507]

This is not presented as a general news article representing scientific concensus. It's presented as an editorial, with the disclaimer:

"Petrol prices are set to fall this autumn, but David Strahan argues that oil is now so scarce that it may never be affordable again"

And ending with:

"David Strahan is the author of 'The Last Oil Shock' (John Murray), which is available from Telegraph Books for £8.99 + £1.25 p&p. To order, call 0870 428 4112 or go to books.telegraph.co.uk"

It's far too easy for people to cast these types of articles aside on the basis of an alarmist looking for a quick buck from book sales.

----

Unfortunately, all too much peak oil in the press originates with an individual "chicken little" who is sounding the alarm rather than a neutral party of concerned scientists (such as the IPCC with global warming). It really doesn't matter how big the figure is. T Boone Pickens, for instance, is still an individual and people can easily say the guy's gone senile or just looking to make a buck off of his natural gas holdings.

[joewp]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mos6507', '
')It's far too easy for people to cast these types of articles aside on the basis of an alarmist looking for a quick buck from book sales.

[Twilight]

David Strahan is one of the best known business journalists in the UK, so if he is an alarmist book-plugger, everyone complaining about gas prices over here should pretty much shut up and disbelieve their bank statements.

I have read his book incidentally, and recommend it to anyone wanting the story told from a UK perspective. The criticism of government energy policy is spot on and withering. He took them to task on things they take for granted attract no comment.